Airship.



D. H. COLES.

AIRSHIP. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 25, 1911 Patented Apr. 15, 1913.

D'AVID HAMILTON COLES, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

AIRSHIP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 15, 1913.

Application filed January 25, 1911. Serial No. 604,514.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, DAVID HAMILTON COLES, of Brooklyn, New York, have invent ed a new and useful Improvement in Airascent and descent, also to do away with the use of ballast and to enable much longer flights to be made than hitherto attained.

Further objects are to improve the construction of the propeller in order that it may exert a greater force to advance the ship and also to improve the general construction in airships. These and other objects will be fully explained in the detailed description.

In airships as heretofore constructed, it has been the practice to provide a large quantity of ballast which is discharged during the flight at times ascent is desired. Should the ship enter warm air currents and expand the field, after ballast has been discharged, then recourse is had to discharging the field to counteract the ascensional efi'ect of this expansion. Such discharge of gas has the serlous objection of diminishing the extent of the flight. It has also been pro posed in ships of this class to use the hot exaustproducts from the motor to heat the gas field thereby expanding the gases therein and causing ascent when desired. Descent, however, is effected by discharge of the gas field accompanied by the above objection that the length of flight is materially shortened. Furthermore, there is more or less danger attending the heating of such a field by the products of combustion from the exhaust which attains at times the kindling temperature of the gas in the field.

My invention overcomes the objections and secures the advantages above described by constructing the airship with a permanent gas field which is capable of equalizing the weight of the ship and cargo but not capable of elevating the ship. I associate with this field a chamber adapted to receive and discharge the hot exhaust gases from the engine, the supply and discharge being regulated by valves under control of the operator. This chamber is as far as practical out of heat interchanging relation with the gas field. To this end the upper wall of the chamber is provided with heat insulating material such as asbestos and is preferably separated from the permanent gas field by an interposed gas chamber which receives a light gas such as hydrogen or illuminating gas the presence of which acts as a heat insulator and which also serves in operating the ship as will be presently explained. The capacity of the hot gas chamber permits confinement of a volume of exhaust gases suflicient to effect the elevation of the ship from the ground and to the height desired. When this elevation is attained the exhaust supply is regulated to maintain the elevation, the advance being made by the engine driven propellers.

I preferably provide the underside of the exhaust gas chamber with a flat surface parallel to the floor of the car and capable of acting'as an aero-plane surface and Ilalso prefer to set the drive shaft for the propeller at an angle to this plane. Vhen the propeller is in action the bow of the ship' is thereby slightly elevated so that the plane has a lifting power to assist sustaining the weight of the ship.

Another feature of importance in the construction of my airship resides in the structural form of the propeller blades which, by reason of curved flanges thereon, reduce the air slip and give increased thrust. While my propeller is particularly designed for use on airships, it may also be used in water and secure the same advantages.

Certain mechanical expressions of the inventive ideas involved are shown in the accompanying drawings which are designed merely as illustrations to assist in the description of the invention and are not in tended as defining the limits thereof, the claims being relied on for this purpose.

In the drawings :Figure 1 shows a view in partly broken elevation of an airship pro vided with my improvements. Fig. 2 shows in elevational view a propeller on the side provided with flanges. Fig. 3 is an enlarged cigar shape, but I prefer an ovalor round un o p i a t e tank a oogand thereby hasten shape which lends itself to the use of a flat bottom surface which can act as an aeroplane. The gas field is provided with a discharge valve 4 normally closed but adapted 5 to be raised by a lever 5 and cord 6 under the control of the operator. Valves 7 and 8 normally held closed by springs 9 and 10 and adapted to be operated by cords 11 are provided in each of the chambers 2 and 3. The partition wall 12 which separates the hot gas chamber 2 from chamber 3 is made of or provided with a heat insulating material which confines the larger part of the heat present in the exhaust gases to the lowest chamber.- The gas field 1 is further prot'ected against heat transfer across wall 12 by the non-heat conducting gases confined between Walls 12 and 13 forming chamber 3 which acts in the nature of a dead air space The bottom wall 14 of chamber 2 is flat for the purpose of acting as an aeroplane surface. I

The car body 15 which is attached" to the bottom 14 or the super-structure by cables 1n -the usual manner supports the engine 16' here shown as of the multiple cylinder type. An exhaust conduit 17 receives the discharge of hot products of combustion from all the cylinders and delivers the hot gases through vertical pipes 18 and 19 into gas chamber 2 or they may be delivered in whole or in part into theatmosphere through exhaust pipe 20 by opening valve 21. The fuel for running the engine is stored in a tank 22 which may also serve for holding other supplies. This tanl'e preferabl rests on a hinged door 23 which is provided with a locking means such as by/a bolt 24 adapted to be drawn when occasion requires by means such as a. lever 25 4 0 acting through a connecting rod 26. The I tank is connected through a fuel supply pipe 27 with the engine} and is provided with a slip joint 28 which ermits of instant d engine when the bolt 24-;1s. drawn todrop the tank through 'the'floor. 1

; {The vessel -issteered by means of fore and aft planes of any desired type such as by planesl f29 and 30 which are manipulated by levers '31 and 32 connected therewith by operating cables 33, 34, 35 and 36 in the usual manner. The propellerflfl'i' is mounted on a propeller shaft 38' whichi inclined to the aer'o-plane surface 1 and when in operation raises the prow of'the-ship to enable e aeroplane to exert a lifting force. I may, and preferably do; provide a fan 39 for pumping cold air into the chamber 2t0 drive out the heat products of combustion descent. This fan may '6 operated ,by the movementof the vessel a one or" v it may be positively driven from the engine by connection 40. A valve 41 is provided tout ofi' communication with the 66 atmosphere as desired.

' passes across it.

The propeller itself is of peculiar design and is clearly illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 to which attention is called. The oppositely disposed blades of the propeller are eac provided on the advancing side with one or more flanges 42.

Since each flange is the same in form, the description of one will serve for all. The flange has its ori 'n in the entering edge of the propeller bla e and increases in height and thickness toward the rear. The back 43 of the flange 42 or the face nearer the riphery of the ropeller. blade is a part 0? cylindrical sur ice having its axis coinciding with the axis of the propeller and normal to thesuriace of the blade. The inner face 44 of the flan e intersects the back face to form a thin 45 and its intersection with the surfam othe propeller blade in line 46 makes an acute angle with the intersection line 47 pi beck face 43 with the surface of the propeller. The inner face of the flange is concave and may vary in size and curvature according to the conditions of service for which the propeller is to be used. The form illustrated I prefer for propellers which are to be used on airships, the idea being to gradually increase the pressure on the blade as. the air The operations. are as follows: The ship may be assumed as resting on the ground and provided with its supply of fuel and cargo. The gas field is adiusted so that the weight of the ship is equal to the weight of the air displaced or the ship is neither heavier nor lighter than air. (hen the gas chamber 3 is used, its buoyant effect is designed to compensate for the weight of the fuel and its capacity is therefore small com-- pared with that of the gas field 1.. After starting the engine the exhaust gases are directed into chamber 2 through pipes 18 and '19 by cutting off the exhaust to the atmosphere by aid of valve 21.. -Theheated ex haust gases from the engine displace through the opened port 7 the cool air in the chamber 2, and till it with a specifically lighter gas which while confined in the chamber, causes the ship to rise from the ground and to such elevation as desired for continuing the flight.

The exhaust is then directed to the atmosphere through pipe 20. Ascension is also assisted by the action of the propeller and aero-plane 14 by reason eat the angular rela tion of the propeller shafit andaerov-plane 12.0 surface. The thrust of the propeller causes the forward end of the aero-plane toelevate thereby enabling the plane to exert a lifting force. Should the shipenter warm air cur rents and'expand. the gas field ll causing the "2 ship to. asce' d during its course, this efiect may be cougteracted by partially opening port 7 and re gulating the exhaust valye 21-. The hot gases in chamber 2 escape and thereby diminish its lifting power. The discharge 18G may be hastened by starting fan 39 which will introduce cold air in this chamber.

On long trips for which this ship is particularly designed, there will be considerable loss of weight by consumption of fuel, the effect of which is to cause the ship to rise. To compensate for this the gas in chamber 3 is permitted to escape by occasionally opening port 8. While this permits a certain amount of gas to escape, it also permits air to enter, the result being that the density of the mixed gases in chamber 3 approaches that of air thereby diminishing the lifting power of this chamber to correspond to the diminished weight of fuel. It is, therefore, seen that chamber :5 performs a double function. It serves in operatin the ship and it also serves by reason of the nonheat conducting property of gases to cooperate with the heat insulating partition 12 to interpose a barrier to the heating effect of the exhaust gases on the gas field which lat ter may be considered a permanent part of the structure of the ship. Landing is effected by discharge of chamber 2 and admission of cold air. Should it become necessary to suddenly lighten the ship in case of an emergency, the bolt 24 is withdrawn by manipulating lever 25 thereby opening trap door 23 and dropping the weight of fuel and supplies. The tank pipe 27 breaks connection with the engine at slip joint 28. Even in case all ascensional means fail the aeroplane may be relied on to glide to earth without serious accident to the occupants of the ship.

My propeller as stated above is designe'd to give increased thrust which it effects by means of the superposed flanges 42. The air sweeping across the blades is confined to a straight course over their surface, the pressure increasing from the entering edge of the blade to the rear because of the gradual elevation of the flange toward the rear. This is in contrast with the tendency of the air sweeping over a plane surfaced blade to slip toward the periphery of the propeller blades with less of propelling power. This form of propeller has a better grip on the air, is notably efficient and in water no churning occurs between the flanges.

Instead of discharging the gas from chamber 3 into the atmosphere when it is desired to compensate for loss of weight by consumption of fuel, I may conduct this gas by means of pipe 48 to the engine and thus prevent waste of gas and'eflect an economy of liquid fuel and materially increase-the length ofthe flight. A valve 49 is provided in pipe 48 for the purpose of controlling the flow of gas therethrough.

What is claimed is 1. In an airship, the combination of a car body, an engine thereon for propelling said ship, a gas field associated with said car and adapted to exert a lifting force equal to the weight of the ship and cargo, a chamber for hot exhaust gas and a gas chamber intermediate said field and exhaust chamber, said exhaust chamber having a valved connection with the exhaust port of the engine for the pur ose of controlling ascent and descent, sai intermediate gas chamber acting to compensate for loss in weight of fuel.

2. In an airship, the combination of a car body, an engine thereon for pro ellin said ship, a gas field associated Wit sai car and adapted to exert a lifting force equal to the weight of the ship and cii'rgo, a chamber for hot exhaust gases havin a heat insulating wall between said cham er and said field and an aeroplane bottom surface, a valved connection between said chamber and the engine exhaust whereby ascent and descent of the ship is effected by control of exhaust products to said chamber.

3. In an airship, the combination of a gas field, a car body and an engine thereon, a hot gas lifting chamber out of heat inter changing relation with said gas field and in valved communication with the exhaust of said engine for the purpose described.

4. In an airship, the combination of a gas field, a car body and an engine thereon, a

hot gas lifting chamber out of heat interl changing relation with said gas field and in valved communication with the exhaust of said engine, said chamber having an aeroplane bottom surface for the purpose described.

5. Inan airship, the combination of a gas field, a car body and an engine thereon, a hot gas lifting chamber out of heat interchanging relation with said gas field and in valved communication with the exhaust of said engine and means for introducing cold air into said chamber to displace the hot gases therein."

6. In an airship, the combination of a gas field, an engine, and a chamber for receiving the hot exhaust products from the en gine, a second gas chamber intermediate said field and first named chamber and containing a combustible gas lighter than air and a conduit connecting said last named chamber and said engine for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

DAVID HAMILTONCOLES.

Witnesses:

RALPH L. Soo'r'r, FREDERICK CHARARAY. 

